The Embodied Numinous: A Depth Psychological Approach to the Sacred

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the lived experience of the numinous in therapy, asking how attuning to the mystical dimension can help embody and integrate numinous experience. Grounded in interpretive phenomenological research and Jungian perspectives, the study employs a case study methodology, adding a mystical lens and heuristic elements. Data is drawn from therapists’ published case material on encounters with the numinous in therapy and the researcher’s lived experience of dreams and synchronicities arising in the research. Three core themes arose across the research: dreams, embodied attunement, and hosting the numinous. Additional themes were the subtle body, the researcher’s numinous experience, advice for therapists, and the value of the Poetic (music, poetry) in therapy. This study suggests that the emergence of the numinous in psychotherapy serves as a lived reminder of the human longing for mystery and meaning. The findings affirm Jung’s assertion that true therapy arises through an encounter with the numinous, suggesting that it can function as a catalyst for transformation, allowing patients to access meaning, vitality, and integration. It further finds that as a sacred practice of soul tending, psychotherapy holds space for an embodied spiritual path, understanding its inclusion in treatment as an essential aspect of healing and wholeness.